Native sisterhood @ Prison for Women

Before approval was given to create its own production unit, Prison TV was a frequent visitor to Prison for Women where it recorded interviews and social activities. In this 1994 video excerpt, I get to talk with “Yvonne” from the Native Sisterhood about systemic issues of concern to native prisoners.

“No amount of tinkering with prisons can heal the before-prison lives of the Aboriginal women who live or have lived within their walls. Prison cannot remedy the problem of the poverty of reserves. It cannot deal with immediate or historical memories of genocide that Europeans worked upon our people. It cannot remedy violence, alcohol abuse, sexual assault during childhood, rape and other violence Aboriginal women experience at the hands of men. Prison cannot heal the past abuse of foster homes, or that indifference and racism of Canada's justice system in its dealings with Aboriginal people.” (From the report ‘First Nations women in the Canadian federal prison system’.)